The teen suspects arrested for plotting an ISIS-style “bloodbath” terror attack at one of Taylor Swift’s Austrian concerts this week planned to drive a bomb-filled car into the crowd to kill “as many people as possible”. He reportedly had just been hired by the venue to work security.
Terrifying details of the foiled suicide-bombing attack emerged after authorities revealed that two men, aged 19 and 17, had been taken into custody in Vienna on Wednesday — resulting in Swift’s three sold-out Eras shows in the city being canceled.
The suspects, who investigators say had become radicalized online by ISIS, had wanted to carry out the attack outside the Ernst Happel Stadium — killing fans with self-made explosives and machetes, security officials said Thursday.
“The suspects actually had very specific and detailed plans to leave a bloodbath in their wake,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
The ringleader, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, had chemical substances and technical devices stashed inside his home when it was raided by authorities, according to officials.
He had also made progress in building the bomb he planned to strap to the car, they added. Meanwhile, the second suspect — a 17-year-old Austrian citizen with Turkish and Croatian roots — was arrested by special police forces near the stadium where the concerts were scheduled to take place this week.
Officials said the second suspect had only been employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue during the concerts.
Sources told German news outlet Kurier that he’d been hired to work there as security.
According to Franz Ruf, public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, the pair had displayed noticeable changes in their behavior in the leadup to their arrests.
The older teen had quit his job on July 25 and told people he had “something big” planned, while the 17-year-old recently broke up with his girlfriend, Ruf added.
The pair had also made contact with others who were aware of the terror plot plans. A 15-year-old boy was also taken in for questioning Wednesday after the sinister plans were uncovered, though it was unclear if he had been arrested.
Meanwhile, both older suspects had been under surveillance by Austrian authorities and were known risks before their arrests, officials said.
Investigators said they found extensive material related to ISIS and al Qaeda during a raid at the second suspect’s home.
The main suspect — who authorities say fully confessed to the attack plans after his arrest — had recently sworn allegiance to Islamic State’s leader online, security officials added.
The older suspect was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence.
Haijawi-Pirchner added that the suspect “wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made.”
The names of those involved haven’t been released due to Austria’s privacy laws, and the 17-year-old suspect has reportedly refused to talk since his arrest.
Swift had been slated to play the three sold-out shows, which were expected to draw 195,000 people, Thursday through Saturday.
Nehammer defended the decision to nix the shows, saying they occurred too close to the arrests.
“I understand very well that those who wanted to experience the concert live are very sad,” the chancellor told a news conference Thursday. “Moms and dads are looking after their daughters and sons, who were full of enthusiasm and anticipation for this concert. But it’s also important that in such serious moments as now, it’s inevitable that safety comes first.”
It wasn’t immediately clear for which concert the thwarted attack was meant to target.
“The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented,” Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Thursday.
Event organizer Barracuda Music revealed Wednesday in an Instagram post that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
It cited government officials’ confirmation of the planned attack at the stadium. News of the terror threat — and subsequent cancellations — devastated “Swifties” across the globe.
Austria’s Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said in a post in X: “For many, a dream has been shattered today. On three evenings in Vienna, tens of thousands of #Swifties should have celebrated life together.
“I am very sorry that you were denied this. Swifties stick together, hate and terror can’t destroy that,” Kogler added.
But some Swifties who had traveled to Vienna for the show were undeterred – with many turning out in the streets of the Austrian capital city to console each other over the near miss. Filling the city streets by the hundreds, fans joined arms to belt out their favorite Swift songs together, swapped friendship bracelets, and shared group hugs.
Swift’s next shows, scheduled for August 15-20 in London, are expected to go ahead as planned.
“We’re going to carry on,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan, adding that England had learned the hard way to deal with concert threats after a bomb detonated at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert killed 22 people.
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